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Verbs according to function 4
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Lecture1.1
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Lecture1.2
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Lecture1.3
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Lecture1.4
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Verbs according to meaning 7
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Lecture2.1
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Lecture2.2
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Lecture2.3
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Lecture2.4
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Lecture2.5
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Lecture2.6
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Lecture2.7
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Verbs according to form 3
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Lecture3.1
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Lecture3.2
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Lecture3.3
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Verbs according to conjugation 6
For purposes of conjugation Dutch verbs can be divided into regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow a certain pattern in the way they are conjugated, whereas irregular verbs do not follow a pattern at all. The group of regular verbs is the largest, and this group can be divided further into weak verbs and strong verbs. The conjugation of a new verb (e.g. a verb borrowed from English) normally follows the rules of weak verbs.
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Lecture4.1
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Lecture4.2
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Lecture4.3
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Lecture4.4
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Lecture4.5
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Lecture4.6
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Tenses 9
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Lecture5.1
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Lecture5.2
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Lecture5.3
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Lecture5.4
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Lecture5.5
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Lecture5.6
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Lecture5.7
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Lecture5.8
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Lecture5.9
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Revision exercises: verbs 1
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Lecture6.1
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Position verbs
There are three verbs in Dutch which, when indicating the position of an inanimate object, would be translated with ‘to be’ in English. These are the verbs zitten (literally ‘to sit’), staan (literally ‘to stand’) and liggen (literally ‘to lie’).
So, when you want to describe where things are, there is more than one verb to choose from. The choice of verb depends on the relative position of the object. The following examples illustrate the difference in meaning of the verbs of position:
The milk is in the shopping bag.
The milk is on the table.
The milk is on the floor.
Zitten is used when the object is contained within a relatively small space. In the example above, the milk is contained within the shopping bag and not visible. Staan is used when something is in an upright position. In the example above, the container or bottle of milk is in a normal upright position on the table. Liggen is used when the object is lying flat. In the example above, this implies that the milk has been spilt!
The following examples illustrate how the verbs of position are used in practice:
The list is in her pocket.
Here is the peanut butter.
Do you know where the tofu is?
Note that in all the examples so far, the position verbs have been translated with ‘to be’.
There is another verb that indicates position, but it is much more rarely used.
Oops! The milk is on the floor!
Well, the floor cloth is on the hook…
The verbs of position are also used to indicate the position of a person, but these can receive a literal translation in English as you can see in the examples below. You will sense though, that the English translation with to sit/stand/lie is not used as widely as the position verbs in Dutch.
Alan and Hannah are (sitting) on the sofa.
Kenny is (standing) in the kitchen.
Simone is still (lying) in bed.